12/2 Ptarmigan, tribe fish farm, aquamation, WA climate policies, Canada greenwash, John Hart dam, sun dogs, week in review

White-tail ptarmigan [Kahn Tran]

White-tail ptarmigan Lagopus leucura
The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan is pure white in the winter, and streaked brown and gray during the summer. The tail remains white throughout the year. In Washington, this is the only species of grouse with white tail feathers. This species is found in remote, rocky, alpine areas at around 7,000 feet in Washington. (BirdWeb)

Washington tribe tests its rights to commercial net pen fish farming
An executive order from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources earlier this month aims to end commercial net pen fish farming in Washington’s public waters. Cooke Aquaculture has been ordered to dismantle its operations in Puget Sound and Skagit Bay – and told its leases will not be renewed. But it has a key partner in its fight to remain here. In 2019, the Canada-based company launched a joint venture with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, to farm two species of native fish in net pens in Port Angeles Harbor. A lawsuit delayed operations, but it’s resolved now and they’re forging ahead with the tribe. Bellamy Paithrop reports. (KNKX)

New options change choices for that final resting place
A cultural shift is underway from traditional burials and cremations to terramation, a composting process, and aquamation, a water-based process. Matt Benoit reports. (Salish Current)

Clean Fuel Standard and Climate Commitment Act set to launch Jan. 1
Two new state climate policies intended to work alongside each other to help the state achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2050 by transforming how it acquires and uses energy will officially launch Jan. 1...Signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2021, the CFS and the CCA passed both houses of the state Legislature without a single Republican vote. Paula Hunt reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

The Feds Have Launched Greenwashing Investigations. Look Who’s Targeted
The Canadian Gas Association is being investigated for alleged greenwashing after it claimed its product was clean, environmentally friendly and affordable in its Fuelling Canada ad campaign. In late September the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment filed a complaint with Competition Bureau Canada, a federal watchdog that protects consumers from false and misleading claims made by companies. In early November the bureau notified the association that it was going ahead with an investigation. Michelle Gamage reports. (The Tyee)

Upgrade of John Hart dam to begin in summer, take 6 years
Aecon-EBC General Partnership has been awarded the civil works contract for B.C. Hydro’s John Hart Dam seismic upgrading project near Campbell River. Construction on the dam is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2023... The project is being carried out to make sure the dam, built in the 1940s, is able to deliver safe and reliable power and is improved to address safety risks and to significantly increase its ability to withstand a major earthquake. The entire cost of the dam work has been estimated at between $497 million and $882 million. Carla Wilson report. (Times Colonist)

Giant sun dogs light up the sky as temperatures drop in Prince George
Plunging temperatures and sunny skies resulted in some great photo opportunities in Prince George, B.C., Thursday as an optical illusion known as "sun dogs" could be spotted throughout the city. A sun dog — also known as a "mock sun" or parhelion in meteorology — is formed when ice crystals hanging in the atmosphere begin bending sunlight, resulting in a bright circle surrounded by a halo of light and, if the angle is right, even rainbows. Andrew Kurjata reports. (CBC)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 12/2/22: Mutt Friday, Salish Sea map, Dungeness crab, orca prey, green crab, 'underwater Amazon,' BC LNG, Vancouver port zero-emissions, vanishing lichen, tribe net pens

Have you read the Salish Current?
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Catch the Current here.

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  226 AM PST Fri Dec 2 2022    |
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON PST TODAY THROUGH LATE  TONIGHT   
TODAY  E wind 20 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 3 ft  at 9 seconds. A chance of showers in the morning then rain likely  in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  E wind 25 to 35 kt. Combined seas 4 to 7 ft with a  dominant period of 7 seconds building to 7 to 9 ft with a  dominant period of 10 seconds after midnight. Rain. 
SAT  E wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon.  Combined seas 6 to 8 ft with a dominant period of 11 seconds.  Rain likely in the morning then a chance of rain in the  afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell  6 ft at 10 seconds. 
SUN  SE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 3 ft  at 10 seconds.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told